I think the author hits two keys points right on the head. First, as she puts it, this moment represents "the death of hope". That expression gave me chills, because it perfectly summed up what I felt when I read the books for the first time. Robb was the last hope for the audience in terms of a quality ruler who could take over Westeros in the short term (since Dany is perpetually busy over the sea). With his death, the idea that a worthy leader is going to roll in and save everyone pretty much falls away.

Second, and I think the more important point, is that it further emphasizes the "no one is safe" idea. It's not so much that we care about Robb and Catelyn - it's that their deaths mean that the characters we REALLY care about (and up to this point in the show, I can guess that would be Tyrion, Jon, Dany and Arya) are not safe. The idea of watching poor little Arya die is a thought I can barely stand to entertain. But now it's like a sword hanging over the head of every character I truly love, and that creates an unbearable and yet completely compelling tension that makes me push through even the weaker parts of the narrative.

I'll open this up to comments, but I ask that you clearly mark spoilers so people who are only watching the show aren't spoiled on upcoming parts of the books. I'd say even talking in vague terms about what a certain character might do in book 6 or 7 is uncool, because then you know that character actually makes it to the end of book 5.﻿

pretty big deal breaker for me. I buy used games off glyde all the time, and I'm a powerup rewards member so the 10% discount off used games and the 10% increase in trade in value helps at gamestop. I usually use glyde now as the prices to buy a used game are lower than GS, and the trade in value you get after their trans. fee and mailer fee is still much higher than GS as well. For me there is no sense in buying new all the time, maybe one or two games a year i'll buy new.﻿

Key point from this +Slate article on Kickstarter: "Kickstarter is an act of faith; if you can’t afford to give away your money and get nothing in return, you shouldn’t give anything at all."

Spot on. I give to Kickstarter campaigns because I like the idea of donating to people who have great ideas, who are trying to do something cool. I think it's up to you, as an investor in the arts, to do your homework and make sure you're investing in someone who is credible and deserves your money.

Sweet - looks like games will be transferable without a fee on the Xbox One after all. I'm surprised MS didn't just open with this sort of information - that's the kind of positive thing you want to share with your fans.

MS still hasn't officially confirmed anything, other than they will be supporting trade and resale. They really should have destroyed any notion that there would be fees by coming out and saying there would be none the day they unveiled xbox one. The fact that they apparently feel this to not be an important issue has made my small thought of maybe purchasing one also a not important issue AKA not buying one.﻿